“I would warn the people of Ireland against electing rivals who lack substance,” blasted Mitchell.

If we choose celebrity over substance I think we are making a very big mistake. I think there are people who are very good candidates but really don’t have the vision and experience that I have.”

Re-iterating his lack of belief in recent statements from McGuinness and the Sinn Fein camp, Mitchell also hit out at election favorite Higgins, currently 25 points ahead of the Fine Gael man in the opinion polls.

“Young people should not be pushed into the Skype emigration generation while we sip champagne in the park reciting poetry,” said Mitchell in comments aimed directly at the Labor Party camp.